Carlton: Groundwork of College Football Playoff in place, but question of selection committee remains

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When held to the light of history, the decision to approve a four-team playoff happened at breakneck speed. Remember, the nation’s most popular collegiate sport awarded its champions for decades based on an ever-changing combination of bowls and rankings. Changes happened, but the pace was glacial. Yet, in a matter of months, the pendulum swung quickly — so much so that the final decision was anticlimactic. The NCAA held its first national championship in 1921, in track. Major college football will get its version starting in 2014. Here are a few key moments of change in college football postseason history over the past century. // By CORBETT SMITH / Staff writer

PASADENA, Calif. — Most of the important groundwork
for the College Football Playoff has been put in place.

The conference commissioners have decided how to divide the reported $7.2
billion they will get from ESPN for the 12 years of the playoff. They picked
Cowboys Stadium to host the first championship game on Jan. 12, 2015, setting
off celebrations in north Texas.

One crucial bit of work remained as the commissioners left Southern
California on Thursday after three days of meetings: Who will pick the four
teams for the playoff after the 2014 season?

The effectiveness of the selection committee in replacing the BCS standings
will determine how the new system is received.

So far, things have been positive. Yes, the College Football Playoff name is
a little too obvious and the official online logo voting was hacked, prompting a
few chuckles. But that’s offset by an actual playoff. Then factor in the
football nirvana of meaningful bowl triple-headers on New Year’s Eve and New
Year’s Day.

Now, it’s up to the committee.

“It’s probably the biggest thing most fans are interested in. It’s certainly
the one I get the most questions about,” current BCS and new playoff executive
director Bill Hancock said. “We need to get it right.”

A whole lot of discussion remains when the commissioners hold a June meeting
in Colorado Springs. Hancock estimated that the commissioners talked about the
committee makeup and parameters for about two to three hours during the three
days in Pasadena.

Ideally, the commissioners would like to have a committee framework in place
to at least track the upcoming season, even while the outgoing BCS system is
still in effect.

So much remains. Expect no more than 20 members. And because many of the
commissioners have been part of the successful NCAA Division I men’s basketball
selection committee, they are borrowing concepts.

“It’s complex and complicated, and we’re going to make sure we take our time
and get it right,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said.

The potential pitfalls are obvious.

In basketball, the choice might be between the seventh-place team in a power
conference and a nice mid-major that lost in its conference tournament. In 2014,
the choice will be between two football teams with legitimate national title
ambitions.

“They’re not picking 68 teams. They’re picking four,” Florida athletic
director Jeremy Foley said. “I’m not saying it will be impossible. It will be
difficult.”

In the rabid world of college football, the equivalent of the witness
protection program might be needed. From the moment the selection committee is
named, the scrutiny will be high in the age of Twitter and cellphone cameras. A
DUI? A messy divorce? Allegations of NCAA misconduct? Who cares if it happened
decades ago, somebody will find it and blog it.

No wonder Bowlsby said that “Priority 1 is impeccable integrity.”

A close second may be giving the committee the right tools and metrics to
have data behind their decisions.

This system will have just one chance in 2014 to introduce itself and avoid
the problems that plagued the BCS.

“We went through trial and error with the BCS, and it’s probably not the
right thing to do,” Hancock said. “It was just a matter of trying to make it
better. What it led to is fans not understanding how it worked.”

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